Warcraft: Fury of the Worgen
by Darius the Dragon
Summary: Gilneas is under siege, and King Varian chose such a time to send a messenger to the old city. I'm bad at summaries...
1. Chapter 1

That night was frigid. Even during the summer solar pine felt like the frozen wastelands of the far North. Darius flew above the forbidding landscape, signs of the forsaken advances clearly evident. Many of the small settlements that had been merely rundown rooms have become great funded fortresses. His Dragon shivered beneath him. "Luna, are you okay?" "Yes, but the cold of North friend was nothing like this!" Darius had gone to nor threatened when the war began he is originally at page sir serving one of the Lords fighting in the Argent tournament however when the final call to the feet the Lich King came his master left and never return he spent two years in the frozen North learning how to fight and defend himself. Now he was on a run for storm bringing the message to the lost city of Vilnius. Ahead of him forced the way to swamp, and a massive wall loomed.

"Luna! Land on the other side of the wall exhibition point we will enter the city on foot so as to not alarm the guards." She nodded in a quick jerk. They landed on said road and Darius dismounted. He removed his plate helm and set it in the saddlebags then the duo marked onward until a great bridge appeared. They crossed and stopped in front of the ancient Iron Gate. "Hello!" Darius, Darius called out. "My name is Darius, and I am a representative for the alliance from storm wind! Is anyone there!"

A distant voice replied with a rather aggressive accent and "I, this is the Gillnean guard! What is your business here!"

"We are here to speak with the king dreaming on behalf of King Varian of storm wind!"

"Excavation point while we haven't had any visitors from the alliance and so long exhibition point how goes it the war North friend?"

"Well, it is over. May we please enter? It is cold and we have traveled far!"

"Ah, yes. So sorry about that!"

The gates began to open on rusting hinges, creaking with the sound of years of unuse. Darius led Luna through them to find a Paige waiting for them. "The guard master told me to take you to Prince Liam first. If you'll please follow me." Darius followed the page with Luna behind him. One thing that stood out quite noticeably was the very obvious lack of citizens in the inner city.

"Pardon me good sir, but I couldn't help but notice how unpopulated city gets. What is going on?"

"Ah, well we've heard rumors of some strange beasts attacking people of late. It's not safe for anyone to be out for very long now. Anyway, the Prince is in the trade square just down that way." he pointed to some stairs that lead up the inner moat wall to the upper level. Darius thanked him and he and Luna ascended to find a group of guards assembled at the landing he took a left into the heart of the square and heard a strong, but young voice rallying his troops. Darius turned right and saw the Prince on the fine brown horse. He approached slowly, not wanting to alarm the guards Luna's presence. Prince Liam saw the duo approaching and let his guards to ease.

"Well now, this is a surprise. We've not had any visitors from the outside world in quite some time. What brings you both here?"

The guards turned expecting some traveler, but upon seeing Luna they jumped back in surprise. "Don't worry, she won't bite, often." Darius chuckled to himself. He then addressed the prints directly. "Prince Liam Graymane of the kingdom of Gillneas, I bring word on behalf of King Varian of stormwind. Since the war against the Lich King is over, he humbly request to re-forge the partnership Gillneas had with the rest of the alliance. In a so Lord Iran is lost, those who lived in the great kingdom still thrive. Will you grant me an audience with your father?"

"Hmmm... Well, to be honest I don't know. He's been very busy of late and I have no idea what he's up to. But maybe..."

He was cut off by ear piercing scream is a very large and vicious looking Worgen leapt onto an unexpected woman. The beast lunged forward to make a killing blow when the night was split by a rifle shot, along with the brute's skull. "My God! The rumors are true!" The prince cried out. Worgen began to pour over the rooftops from all directions as the guards scattered to engage different targets and evacuate civilians. "Traveler, are you skilled with a blade?" Darius the responded by pulling the great broadsword from his pack. A Worgen jumped for him and with a great swing he rented into. Luna spewed fire at the beasts but Darius cut her off.

"Luna! Go! Fly and get help!" Luna stopped and looked at him sternly. "I will be fine, go now, hurry!" She nodded sadly and took off to the south for Iron Forge.

That was the last time Darius would see his Dragon companion...

As the fight grew onward the citizens of Vilnius group smaller and smaller as more and more were infected by the workings curse. Darius didn't next to Sir Crowley in the great domain chapel visible creatures swarmed in. Darius's weak magic did come in handy, setting some of the birds on fire suddenly the swarm seem to thin out than to sit here completely. Crowley lowered his rifle "is that really it?"

"I don't think so... Wait, wha!" Darius exclaimed as a group of working burst through the chapel windows in the back. Crowley turned to meet them, but too slow and was tackled by a very large Worgen, who then bit down on his shoulder missing his neck by inches. Darius tried to help but a trio of Worgen surrounded him and dived in for the kill. Darius swung his sword in a ring around him to try and push the beasts back, but one of the smaller ones managed to grab hold of his right arm in its ravenous jaws. The messenger yelped in pain and smashed the clever Worgen in the head. The beast let go and back peddled in confusion and Darius rushed forward and drove his blade into its gut. As the beast fell it's weight and angle snapped his blade in two. He dropped his broken weapon and fled past Crowley and through the broken stained glass windows where the Worgen burst through. He fell into the river and found himself incredibly drained and weak. He floated on his back, mourning those who died, Crowley for being left to his gruesome fate, and Luna, for sending her away. "Gah… Luna, I'm sorry. 


	2. Chapter 2

He slowly floated out of the lost city until he ran along into the shore bank. Slowly and weakly he clambered onto shore. He had landed in the cemetery, a very forbidding place. The large hill that filled the middle of the site held the bodies of past kings. He moved onward, past the grave mound and onto the road to the port. The very small town would at least have people that could help. As he walked the bite wound began to throb. He ripped the bottom of his tabard into a strip and tied it. Around his arm. As he did he noticed that an infection had set in. "Aw, crap. I need to get some help."  
As he wandered into the small homely town an elderly women noticed him. "You there! Are you ok! What's goin' on in the city?"  
"It's been over run, by worgen. I dint know how many were able to evacuate but is does not look very hopeful."  
" My goodness! And dearest me your bleeding! Come inside and we'll get you patched up." Darius nodded and followed the old woman inside a nearby building. She directed him to a Stool in the corner and left to fetch some brandy to clean the wound. Darius held his bleeding arm and cringed. He'd been stabbed by horde rouge, but this was worse, and the pain was getting more intense the woman came back and undid the bandage, and then gasped. "Good lord! What caused this wound! It's so deep and ragged!" Darius flinched at the stinging from the air. "As we were trying to get out of the chapel, one of those beasts  
managed to grab my arm in its jaws. Hurts like hell." the woman quickly cleaned the wound with the brandy then stitched it closed. "There, that should keep out any other infections. But I'm afraid nothing can be done for you now." Darius looked at her with confusion and worry. "W-what do you mean?" "The rumers go as such. Anyone bitten by a worgen shares the curse and becomes one himself." as she talked a feeling of dread filled Darius, which became a tingling sensation that spread from his wounded arm. He grimaced. As the tingling in his arm translated to pain. The old woman gasped, the screamed as Darius cried out in agony, gripping his right arm tightly. Dark grey fur began to sprout over the limb and his whole arm began to swell. Claws ripped the skin at his finger tips and grew long and deadly. The mutation began to spread to the rest of his body, splitting his clothes with his increased size. His face stretched and his ears migrated to the top of his head. When it was over he opened his glowing red eyes and left forth a blood curdling roar of torment. The old lady was still as a statue as the beast leapt for her. He grabbed her throat and pulled back his arm to strike, but her look of fear stopped him a second. He growled then tossed her aside and burst through the front window and into the night. 


	3. Chapter 3

Tyrone marched with his hounds through the rainy and cold forest. The traps he had set for the worgen should have caught something by now, but every time those beats seemed to get away. A couple more minutes and the sound of a desperate wolf broke the stillness. Tyrone approached cautiously and found a large worgen with its foot fought in a trap.

"Ah ha! Finally! Now to get you back to the apothecary so he can try to help you, beast."

he turned and blew on a wooden whistle. A few minutes later a horse came trotting up the embankment hauling a large cage. Two other Gilneans jumped off the side and approached the struggling worgen. One pulled out a bag of dust and tossed some on the wolf. It sneezed once then slowed and finally dropped unconscious.

"Get him loaded up and back to the stockades in Stormglen."

they tied his hands and carefully carried the worgen over to the cage and harshly tossed him on. The horseman cracked his whip and they started for the village.  
/

King Gen Graymane marched solemnly through Stormglen where the apothecary Krenan Aranas was attending to the stockades. There were three of the crude wooden contraptions and in each one was a feral worgen. The two on each side were struggling and whimpering as the tried futilely to escape the one in the middle though caught the kings attention. This one was unique as he wore a tabard for the city of Stormwind.

"Krenan, who is this one in the middle and how did he come to attain a tabard from an alliance city?"  
"Well, there was a dignitary from the great city that was visiting the city of Gilneas. Either he was killed and this worgen took his attire... Or the young lad has been cursed as well."  
The king looked at the worgen with mixture of remorse and surprise. He had never gotten word of a messenger and regretted the fact that an outsider may have died within their walls.

"Well then we shall see who this one is. Give him the potion, and double the dosage."

With that the king turned and left to attend to other matters. Krenan pulled a small corked beaker of green colored water out of his satchel and pulled the stopper. He was genuinely worried; even the single dosage had caused worgen to die.

"Now then, be a good boy and drink up. Ha ha ha." He laughed worriedly.

He had to hold the worgens muzzle but managed to get the beast to drink. The worgen began to grow tired and dizzy, then his eyelids drooped, his head slacked, and he was asleep.

Darkness, that's all Darius knew at the moment. Slowly the sound of rain began to echo in his ears. His vision  
Went from black nothingness to a soft blur. Colors began to take form then pull apart, clearing up the world around him. Finally he was fully awake. The first thing he noticed was that he couldn't move, and the sounds, smells, well, all of his senses seemed to be sharper and overall better.  
A man in white robes approached him, his face concealed in a hood.

"Ah, I see you've finally awoken, how do you feel?"

"Tired.. Wha! What happened to my voice!" indeed, his voice was much deeper and raspy, almost like a growl.  
"Well I guess there's no beating around the bush. You've been infected by the worgen curse I'm afraid..."  
Darius gasped, his eyes wide as dinner plates.

"W-what? But... What!"

Darius actually growled and snarled at him in shock and anger.

"Now calm down. I know that this is difficult to take in. You are one of the many hundreds of mentally free worgen. Now keep in mind that there is still a chance of losing yourself to the curse again."

Darius still held a snarl on his face but slowly nodded in recognition. The apothecary smiled and pulled a key out of his robes.

"Now I'm going to free you, and I want you to go to the first house on the left and see the woman with the green hat, ok?"  
"Yes, I understand."  
The robbed man stepped forward and undid the lock on the stockades. He pulled off the latch and flipped the wooden beam up and over to the right. Darius pulled out, but didn't move. He just stood contemplating his fate. What would his friends say? What would the king, or Luna?  
The apothecary began to walk off, but when he didn't hear a second set of footsteps he halted and turned.

"Oy. You comin?"

"ye- yeah. Just, what the hell am I supposed to do now?"

The apothecary walked back and put an arm on Darius's Shoulder. "You move on and find a new life. The others have adapted fairly well, and you're from Stormwind right? You're strong and I'm sure you will do just fine." 


	4. Chapter 4

The high commander of the Forsaken stood overlooking the forest below him. The camp was bustling with rotting soldiers going about their business in preparation for war. A banshee came up next to him. She resembled a pale white Elf with large frizzy hair and a plain white dress. A ghostly fog floated around where her legs would've been. "My lord, the forces are prepared for battle. Shall I give the order for the ships to move in?" "Not yet Sylas. We shall wait till nightfall and have the element of surprise on our side." the banshee nodded and then drifted away to preform another task.

/

Tyrone watched with curious eyes as two reformed Worgen dueled in a small roped off ring just outside Stormglen. The one on the right had brownish fur with glowing red eyes. He was missing part of his left ear and wielded a rapier. His armor was made mostly of chain mail but he wore simple steel pauldrons and no helm. The Worgen on the left had light riding armor made if leather, and a tattered Stormwind Tabard. Darius held a new broad sword in his hands. Apparently someone had found his broken weapon and reforged it as thanks for his assistance in the fight for the city. And as an apology.

The first Worgen rushed forward with a roar and swung his rapier with his right arm. The small one-handed weapon was very fast and agile, but weak. Darius brought his hands up to his face and dropped his sword point down, catching his opponent's blade, and with a quick flick of his blade upward he disarmed his foe. The other Worgen watched in dismay as his blade flew out of he ring. Darius was on him in a flash and he rolled to avoid a powerful side swing. With Darius slightly off balance the Worgen took advantage of his adversary and slammed him in the gut with his shoulder. Darius grunted and dropped his own weapon where it stuck in the dirt. He and the other Worgen separated. "Very well then. No swords." Darius called out. The other one nodded and he charged head on. Darius waited with his right arm out to the side, then as his opponent was At least 10 yards off he raised his arm quickly and launched a small fireball. The molten projectile caught the Worgen in the chest and launched him out of he ring. "Ey! You cheating bastard!"

Darius smugly smiled. "We agreed no swords, but never said a thing about magic."

The other Worgen growled menacingly, but seceded and left after retrieving his weapon.

Tyrone clapped slowly and approached Darius with a grin on his face. "Well now that was Impressive. You are very skilled."

"No, these Worgen can't fight worth a copper. No skill and no idea how to utilize their new bodies. They're trying to use he same methods they used as humans."

Tyrone laughed. He then turned and followed the sulking Worgen who sat on a log about twenty feet off. "I better attend to Gibson. He was a sore loser as a human too."

Darius chuckled deep in his throat, then walked over to his claymore and pulled it free of its earthy hold. He ran his thumb over the soiled end, admiring the cold steel. He remembered the day he had received it as a gift. The knight he was serving as a Paige had done fairly well in the argent tournament, but the Lich kings' interference had put the event on hold. His master was called off to finish the fight against the undead king, and left him with one of the elves of the silver enclave. Before he left however, he called Darius over to his charger.

"Darius, if I remember correctively, today is your seventeenth birthday. I'm afraid I can't look after you like I promised your father anymore. I want you to have this, it was your fathers, but he gave it to me just before his death."

The night reached into one of the saddlebags and pulled out a large sword wrapped in canvas. "Take care of this weapon, as its wards will give you strength and protect you from harm. Malev will care for you in my stead, and if I fail to return, I have laid out a plan for you. I must go now, take care young lad."

Then he gave Darius a quick hug and mounted his horse. A trumpet rang forth and then all of the best knights rode off to the south to end the war with the King.

Darius shook himself out of the trance. He had zoned out remembering the past. He took a few steppes toward the small village, but stopped when he noticed a strange feeling in his legs when he walked. He looked down and gasped. He was human again. All of his clothing had changed to match his form. He smiled and let out a relieved laugh. "I don't know how, but I don't care. I'm getting my stuff and getting outta here." he sprinted up the hill and into the first house on the left. One of the villagers, a Worgen merchant saw his tabard and gasped in shock. She called his name and tried to slow him down. "Mister Darius! What on earth? How are you human again?"

"I have no idea, but I do know that my stay here is over. I have to get back to Stormwind as soon as I can and report to King Varian."

The Worgens' ears drooped a bit. She looked down and mumbled, "Oh..." Darius stopped halfway up the stairs. "Tia, what's wrong? It's not like I'm never coming back. You've done a lot for me and I'll never be able to repay your kindness." He reached up and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked down into his eyes. She stood a head taller than him, which was the opposite of how things usually were, making the whole thing a bit awkward. Darius started to say something, then paused, uncertain. "What is it?" Tia asked. Darius closed his eyes a second, then back at her. "Would you like to come with me to the city?" Tia's eyes went wide. "W-what!?" Darius laughed then repeated his query. Tia slowly nodded, then smiled. "Yes, I would love to join you. What should I bring and when do we leave?"

/

Darius and Tia made their way through the forest north, toward the great wall. He had made sure to leave a detailed note thanking the people of Gilneas and explaining the situation. They reached the wall and gazed up its sheer stone walls. "Darius, how did you plan on getting out? I mean you got here on a dragon right?" Darius paced a bit. " What is your field of combat knowledge?"

Tia looked up a bit in thought. "Well, my mother wanted me to train as a priestess of the holy light, but the arcane has always fascinated me. I would say Mage right off the bat."

Darius thought to himself for a moment. "Well I was hoping for a Druid so we could grow some vines or a tree and scale the wall. Do you think a set of ice stairs would work?"

Tia looked at him like he was stupid. "Um, I could just use a levitation spell."

Darius looked a bit sheepish. "Ah, yes that'll do."

Tia nodded then closed her eyes to focus. A blue glow emanated from her hands as the energy reached it's peak, then she cast her arms at Darius and the blue glow enveloped him. His feat left the ground and he slowly floated upwards. As he neared the top of the great wall he stretched out his arms and grasped the ledge, pulling him over until his upper torso had made it on. Suddenly the energy died and he dropped. He scrambled and grabbed a loose cobblestone as his legs still hung over the edge of the hundred-foot wall. He pulled himself up and over. After catching his breath turned back to his compatriot. "What the bloody hell was that!?"

Tia looked up at him with an apologetic grin. "Sorry, it takes a lot of power to lift someone that high. It's easier when you cast it on yourself as the energy stays in your body." She then closed her eyes again and slowly floated upwards. As she neared the top Darius stretched out his hand and grabbed hers. He pulled her over and she released the magic, landing gracefully atop the wall.

Darius rolled his eyes as she flaunted her skill. "Alright alright, now about getting down. I say we run along to the west until we get to the coast. The undead hate water and we'll be on he other side of the coastal mountains." Tia tilted her head inquisitively. "But, then we'd still have to cross into the heart of the Forsaken lands. Hillsbrad is east. That's the only way into alliance territory."

Darius slapped his face with his palm. "Right... Well the let's go. To the east!"

They turned and started marching eastward along the wall, jumping or weaving to circumvent the occasional pothole or missing section of the wall. Tia began to take serious account of the damaged wall and came to a horrifying conclusion. "Darius wait! So far the wall seems to have taken minimal damage from that massive earthquake. But what about the rest of it? If it has been breached..." Darius finished her statement. "Them the undead would have open access to Gilneas. Come on! We have to get across and see if it's still intact!"

Darius and Tia sprinted along the length of the wall until they could see the main road leading to the gate. Darius stopped; Tia did the same just behind him. To their horror hundreds of undead were pouring through the destroyed gate and into Gilneas. "By the Light. We have to warn the king!"

An explosion from the direction of the coast caught their attention. "Darius I think they know. We should get across the gap and into Hillsbrad as soon as we can."

Darius nodded back at her and moved slowly towards the damaged gates. He crouched down and di his best to go undetected. He heard a shout to his left, on the Silverpine side of the wall. Suddenly a crudely made arrow whizzed past his face and into the stone on his right. He turned to see a dozen forsaken readying bows to fire again. "Tia! Move!"

He abandoned his crouch and sprinted forward as fast as he could. He rapidly neared the large gap, about 20 feet across, then turned and yelled one word to Tia. "Levitate!"

Without waiting to respond he charged forward and leapt head first across the gate. As he neared the middle he began to descend, and it quickly became quite obvious that he wasn't going to make it. He closed is eyes and prepared for the inevitable.

A sudden flash of light and he was atop the opposite side of the gap. Surprised, he turned and watched as Tia ran and jumped as well. At the peak of her jump she used a blink spell and in a small sparkle of light she appeared next to Darius. They exchanged nods and then turned and continued running. As they neared the other side Darius heard Tia yelp in pain, and then a dull thump. He turned and found her on the ground with an arrow in her side. She clenched her teeth and held her eyes shut tight to the pain. "Tia! Hang on I is coming!"

He rushed over to her fallen form and tried to lift her onto his shoulder. But it was futile. She was simply too big as a Worgen to carry alone. The arrows kept flying, and as time wore on Darius watched with horror as the Forsaken carried ladders to scale the wall. He thought quickly and came to one solemn conclusion. He closed his eyes and focused all of the emotions that came naturally as a Worgen: rage, anger, hate, and fear. He felt a dark energy fill his body and then the transformation took place his arms suddenly grew hair and changed size very quickly. Claws sprouted from his fingers and then the rest of his body followed suite. The whole process only took a few seconds as opposed to the first time, which took almost a minute. Once he stopped panting from the shock he got his head strait and bent down to pick up his fallen comrade. In his new form she felt as if she only weighed as much as a sack of flour. He carried her bridal style and began running east. The forsaken had finally made it up the ladders and poked heir heads over the top to see a Worgen in full sprint carrying a wounded one heading away very quickly. There was no way in hell that they'd be able to catch them. The lead undead Grunted and climbed back down to join the fray, the others following suite.

Darius didn't look back till he reached the end of the wall, which ran right into the mountain. No way up, and no way down... Darius set Tia down to tend to her wound. He pulled out a small dagger and cut her blouse away where the arrow had penetrated. There was a little blood, but most of it was probably internal. Setting Down the knife he grabbed a clean linen bandage out of his satchel and a bottle of point noir. He undid the stopper on the bottle and poured a bit on the cloth. "Tia? Tia can you hear me?" but she merely squeezed her eyes shut tighter and groaned in pain. "Ok this is going to sting."

Then he gingerly placed one hand on her side, around the arrow, and with his free hand he tightly gripped the shaft of the deadly projectile. He knew from his time in Northrend that the undead did not barb their arrows. With a careful hand he yanked the arrow out quickly. Tia let out a cross between a scream and a howl of pain. Darius quickly dropped the weapon and grabbed the liquor soaked cloth, holding it to the wound to stanch the bleeding. Tia whimpered in pain, but was well awake now she gripped the strap of her satchel hard to help endure the pain, but in her words it still, "Hurt like a bitch."

After wrapping her side with clean strips of cloth and making sure it was Sufficient to endure the rest of their journey, he pulled one of her extra shirts out of their bag for her and turned to give her privacy to change, though with the addition of fur, she was already well covered.

Once she was ready Darius gathered her gear as well as his own and they used a large pine tree to carefully climb down. She winced every now and then but made a quick, yet sloppy, decent. They would have to follow the nearby road east into Hillsbrad, which would be the easy part. The herd part is getting through Hillsbrad without running into horde adventurers or patrols. Darius helped Tia along the road as her wound slowed their progress significantly. About a mile from the crossing Tia called for a pause and sat on the side of the road. "Are you ok Tia?"

She looked at him with an "Are-you-serious" look. "Right, sorry."

He waited for her to whip up a quick healing spell. A dull white glow encased her hands as she mouthed a silent prayer to the light. The smell of burning candles filled the air, and then vanished as the glow subsided.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. It still took a bit of energy to cast a small heal, and it left her a little drained. She got up slowly and stretched, feeling no pain any longer. "Better now?" Darius asked casually. "Yes, quite a bit. Although I dear say it's getting dark. We'd better find a place to camp." he led them off the road a bit to an outcropping that made excellent rain cover. He laid out a couple of bedrolls and two thick woolen blankets. Luna pulled some bushes over to their campsite. Darius slowly turned back into his human form before laying down to rest.

/././././

They emerged from their hideout the next morning to find everything concealed in fog, and the sounds of war had migrated. They could hear rusted wagons and undead infantry moving along the road they needed. There was simply too much traffic down the canyon for them to get through. There was only one option. "Tia, I hate to say this, but we are going to have to go back." she looked at him painfully at first, but then closed her eyes and nodded. They made their way back through the forest. They got to the wall and followed it west towards the gate. The foliage here was thick and the weather threatened rain. Upon arriving at the gate however they realized how bad the situation really was. The forsaken had taken the area around the gate for about a mile. There was no chance of getting in or out. "Dammit. I completely forgot."

Suddenly there was a rustling in the bushes. Tia turned and readied a Blast of arcane while Darius drew his sword. He shouted at the Bushes, "Who goes there!?".

Then without warning a large armored Worgen leapt from the shadows and slammed into the small human. Tia launched her spell and hit the beast I the back. But it was futile. The enemy didn't flinch and another Worgen grabbed Tia's arms from behind, holding her immobile. Then another one in much more regal armor slowly emerged. "Don't struggle little ones. We don't want to have to kill you. Now what are you doing out here?"

The leader had an eye patch and Darius recognized him at once. "Crowly!? My god, it is you!"

Crowley stared him down. "And who might you be?"

"My name is Darius; I stood with you at the chapel."

Crowley suddenly felt very ashamed and foolish. "Ah, yes I remember now. Let them go; and you two need to follow us back to the city." they nodded in response and followed the group back east a bit to where a great oak tree grew along the wall. Crowley walked up to a very low, dead branch and twisted it clockwise twice, and then counters clockwise once. A knot in the tree just above suddenly began to expand and then opened up into a tunnel big enough for several very large Tauren to walk Side by side.

Crowley then bowed and waited for Tia and Darius to pass through before following with the other two Worgen. As soon as the last two had passed into the tree it closed up again.

They came out into the northern headlands, so it was only a matter of making their way down to the city.

Crowley moved up to Darius as they made their long march. "So tell me, what exactly were you doing outside the wall with all of those forsaken about?"

"Well we were trying to get to Hillsbrad so we could make our way back to Stormwind. But when we got up on the wall we were spotted right during the start of the forsaken attack. We ran along the wall and made it to the road but the undead have been trafficking to much along that road and we had to come back."

Crowley chuckled, "Ha, you remind me of myself. But it is ironic that an anteing race known as the Night Elves contacted us and agreed to help us with our plight just today. If you had waited just a bit longer..."

It took several hours of walking but they made it to the eastern entrance to the city. There were hundreds of Gilneans gathered before the gates, listening to the voice of the prince rallying them together to take back the city. Crowley bowed and said, "Forgive me but I must go and gather the rest of my pack."

Darius looked a bit confused but Tia nodded in understanding. "Thank you for your help sir."

They walked forward to the rear of the group and followed when the prince began to speak.

_"The Forsaken think we're weak, a broken people. They think we'll roll over like a scared dog... how wrong they are. We will fight them in the fields until the last trench collapses and the last cannon is silenced. We will fight them on the streets until the last shot is fired, and when there is no more ammunition, we'll crush their skulls with the stones that pave our city. We will fight them in the alleys until our knuckles are skinned and bloodied, and our rapiers lay on the ground, shattered. And if we find ourselves surrounded and disarmed, wounded and without hope; we will lift our heads in defiance and spit in their faces. But we will never surrender! FOR GILNEAS!"_

And the whole lot charged forward. The few undead were utterly shocked as the Gilneans poured in and began cutting their way through enemies. Darius pulled out his sword and Tia pulled out a short gnarled staff. They went as a pair; Darius cutting undead in twos and threes while Tia blasted any he missed with wrath bolts and moonbeams. A rather large solder got passed his guard and stabbed Darius in the side with a dagger. "Gah! Fucking hell!" he cut the things head off then collapsed onto one knee. "Grr, Tia can you heal this?" Blood was pouring out in a steady slow trickle, but the female Worgen concentrated and cast a small healing spell over him. The scent of old Pune and oak reached him as his side sealed up. "Thanks. Come on we need to catch up." the strain of fighting was reaching both of them. Tia only nodded in response. They found themselves in Graymane court where Sylvanas herself was sitting astride a great undead charger. The king himself had become a Worgen and was fighting her with a very ornate rapier. "Enough!" the banshee queen yelled and through them all back with a burst of magic. Darius and Tia struck the side of a nearby house. They watched as prince Liam ran to help his father, and in the process intercept a crossbow bolt that had been aimed. At the kings own heart. "Liam! No!" the King yelled in anguish as Sylvanas escaped.

/./././././.

Tia and Darius did not do much during the few hours to follow. The king was in a nearby house mourning his son as a few members of the army went on scouting missions every now and then. It had been discovered that the scourge had a large supply of the plague with them, and they were bound to use it. The king had to make a tough choice. Late in the night he called everyone together in the main square. "People of Gilneas! It is with a heavy heart that I have made a crucial decision for the survival of our people. My best mages have made contact with the night elves and even now they are growing very near to our shores with troops and ships. I'm afraid that in order to save Gilneas, we must leave her."

A murmur went through the crowd. Many panicked and children cried out in the confusion. A sudden gunshot pulled everyone's attention back to the king where Crowley stood next to him with a smoking rifle held in the air. "I understand," the king continued, "That this is going to be very hard for many of you. It's possibly one of the worst decisions I've had to make. Pack only the essentials for tomorrow we make our way to the harbor."

Darius went back into the inn that he and Tia had chosen to stay in. The only thing he had with him was some clothes, food, a couple of potions, and his broadsword. He carefully packed those and slung his sword on his back before herring his small pack. He ran into Tia on his way out. "Where are you going? We have hours before we have to go."

"Yes but I wanted to see if I could help with the preparations. I've met the Night Elves before and they can be a bit odd to work with." Tia nodded and continued to her own room.

/

It took almost three hours of work to prepare the city, and then the call went out, they were moving out. A few members of the kings' pack went down into the basement of a nearby house where the tunnel out was found to be infested with rats and spiders. There were literally thousands of them. One of Crowley's Worgen handed Darius a torch. "Will you help clear out this infestation?"

Darius cringed but agreed begrudgingly. Spiders reminded him too much of those damn Nerubians. But he grabbed the torch and gradually made his way down the steppes. At the bottom he found a large tunnel full of spiders and rats. He began swinging the torch back and forth, smacking a few of the little pests every now and then. Other Gilneans followed him through the path he had cleared, every other one or so carrying a torch themselves.

The small trek took about ten minutes to complete but soon Darius could see the light at the end of the tunnel. He emerged into the gloom of a dark overcast sky and stepped aside to help usher people along into the graveyard. After the first dozen people had passed Krennan Aranas came through and approached Darius. "Good work m'boy, but I'll take it from here. Why don't you lead them all to Keel Harbor where the elves have docked?"

The young man nodded and climbed the small knoll in the center of the graveyard to address the refugees. "Everyone! Listen up; we need to head over to the harbor! Follow me!"

And they did without question or even a murmur.

The rest of the journey was rather uneventful, although one villager fell in a ditch. Upon reaching the crest of the last small hill Darius beheld quite a sight. Almost a dozen night elven ships sat at dock and almost a hundred elven soldiers stood in formation in front. An elf on the back of a tiger rode up to meet the human emissary. "Elune bless you Darius, has your journey been well?"

Darius was a bit taken back by being addressed like an important leader. "Yes it has, but we have many people coming, can your ships handle the load?"

The elf woman laughed, a sound that was like pine trees and small forest creeks. "We are skilled with the use of our ships. It will not be an issue."

Darius stepped aside to wait for Tia as the flood of refugees filed into the small port town.

As the villagers moved into small groups either into the buildings or out by the docks, the night elves began going about trying to get everyone sorted. Then a terrible call went out.

"Horde to the east! Orcs attacking!"

There was utter pandemonium as people began trampling each other trying to get to the ships.

He elves did their best to calm the stampede but eventually just gave in and packed the flood of people where they could. Eventually the majority of the citizens where loaded and the first of the ships were setting sail for Kalimdor. Darius and Tia were about to board the last ship when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to find Lorna Crowley standing there in light leather gear with a short rifle in he hands. "If you and your friend could spare a moment, we could use your help yet again."

The adventurer let out and exasperated sigh but nodded his head and followed, Tia close behind.

They followed the gun-slinging girl to a small area on he side of the harbor where almost a dozen anxious hipogryphs stood in wait. "Um, Lorna? What's this all about?" Darius queried.

"Simple, we need to bring down that airship or else we are going to be in a tight spot to get the ships out of here unscathed!"

A line of elven glaive launchers rolled past the harbor towards the open hill Side to the east.

Lorna mounted a hippogryph and called for others to do the same. Darius hopped onto the waiting mounts and held on for dear life as it bucked and shot into the sky. It wasn't nearly as gracefully or steady as flying a dragon. The raiding party approached the large airship floating over the ocean and came to a stop above a small catwalk above the main deck. Darius jumped from his hippogryph, shifting into his Worgen form on the way down. He landed with a dull thus and unsheathed his claymore as two Orcs rushed at him from both sides. With a grin he swung his blade, sheathing it in fire. He swung hard as the first Orc approached brandishing a hefty war axe. His blade cut through the steel weapon and into the Orc, where it rent him in two. Continuing with the swing Darius spun to block a powerful swig from the second Orc. As the brute raised his axe to strike again he left himself open. Darius kicked him in the gut as hard as he could, sending the green soldier back several feet. The Orc caught his breath and prepared to charge when a bright blue beam of light cascaded down onto him. There was a bang and the Orc fell over dead. Tia dropped down next to the corpse, a green wrath bolt in her hands. "God, they smell even worse when dead."

Lorna called out, "Use the ropes to decent to the lower deck!"

Darius grabbed a rope and dropped down to the lower deck. As soon as he landed an Orc was upon him. The hefty war axe slammed into the wooden deck, where it stuck. Darius smirked at the Orcs foolishness. He pulled his main arm back and with a swing and flick of his wrist the Orcs head was gone. Lorna called them below decks. Together, he and Tia made their way through the small groups of Orcs aboard the ship. They ran across the bull war to the rear of the vessel and into the engine room. "Grab those explosives!"

They did as told, helping the human rig the ship to blow. When they were done, Lorna lit the fuse.

A low growl permeated the air around them as a massive Orc lumbered toward them. "That's... One big Orc."

Darius readied his blade while Tia's eyes began to glow with arcane energy. The Orc lunged at them with a large fist, intending to sweep them up in one swipe. Tia and Lorna fell back to avoids the swing while Darius leapt high, over the brutes arm. He landed hard on its shoulders, stabbing downward and into the soft flesh o it's left arm. The Orc let out a bellow and grabbed the Worgen, throwing him against the bulwark. Darius grunted from the impact, but jumped back up and pressed the attack, swinging his sword to keep his enemy at bay. Suddenly a bright gold flash lit the area as a wrath bolt struck the creature in the face. The great brute flailed as his eyes burned, blinding him. Lorna carefully aimed her rifle at the beasts' head and fired, the bullet clearing the Orcs skull cleanly. The green giant fell to the deck and lay still, dead. Tia bent down to help Darius up. "Are you ok?"

"I am uninjured, thank you."

Lorna cried out to them, "It's about to blow! Get to the wyverns!"

They did as they were told, grabbing the lion's reins and urging it onward. Darius heard the explosion and turned to watch as the ship began to burn. The balloons burst along the seams and the vessel plummeted into the gathered forsaken below.

The wyverns were string creatures, not as graceful as the gryphons, but still carried the group safely back to the harbor.

"Thank you everyone. Hopefully we'll be able to retake our home in the future." Lorna called out to the raiding party.

The Gilneans were deeply saddened to leave their homeland in such a state, but boarded the elegant elven ships nonetheless.

Darius found Tia among the small crowd and boarded with her, fading back to his human form so as to be more comfortable on the small vessel. "Well, that was quite an adventure."

Tia stooped to followed Darius inside the ships hold. "Nay, I fear our adventure is merely beginning."


End file.
